Air India Ahmedabad-London flight crash: Auto driver turns carpenter; crafts coffins for victims

Carpenter Nilesh Vaghela. File | Photo Credit: Abhinay Deshpande

Sawdust coats every surface of Nilesh Vaghela’s home in Hari Nagar Society, where the 47-year-old auto-rickshaw driver has transformed into an unlikely hero of Ahmedabad’s darkest hour. Since receiving an urgent call from Air India hours after Thursday’s crash (June 12, 2025), Mr. Vaghela has been working round-the-clock, crafting coffins for victims with the precision of a seasoned carpenter. 

“I’ve delivered 80 coffins so far, with 20 more to go by today evening,” Mr. Vaghela told The Hindu, his bloodshot eyes betraying three straight days of working 21-hour shifts. 

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Father of a teenager, Mr. Vaghela, who normally earns his living ferrying passengers, has barely slept since the disaster, surviving on short naps between measuring, cutting, and assembling the simple wooden boxes that will cradle his city’s dead. 

“I’m cutting the wood and assembling the boxes and attending to the never-ending phone calls from the hospital to supply the coffins immediately — all at once. I can’t rest until I complete the deliveries,” he said.

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When he first got a call requesting coffins for all victims, Mr. Vaghela — who occasionally built coffins for extra income — had to calculate how many he could realistically produce. “I told them 100 in two days was all I could promise at first,” he recalled. “More than business, I consider this as a seva (service) to humanity,” Mr. Vaghela said.

He has even sought help from his neighbours to store the coffins in their buildings, as his own home does not have enough space. “Many ask me why I make coffins despite being a Hindu… I tell them it’s not about religion or anything else — it’s about humanity. Now, everyone has come forward to help me store the boxes,” he said.

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Each coffin carved by Mr. Vaghela carries no name — only the silence of lives abruptly lost, and the stories that never be told. 

“I’m making more than 30 boxes a day. I don’t have any workers — this isn’t my regular job. And anyway, which coffin maker would keep hundreds of boxes ready in advance? This is such a tragic incident. How could anyone foresee a day like this?” he added. 

Published - June 15, 2025 01:20 pm IST